The FIVB Beach Volleyball Swatch World Championships powered by smart press conference set the tone for the FIVB's premier beach volleyball event which starts on June 13

Rome, Italy, May 31, 2011 – The composition of the 12 Main Draw pools for the 2011 FIVB Beach Volleyball Swatch World Championships powered by smart, set to be held in Rome, Italy from June 13 to 19, have been confirmed following the official press conference of the FIVB’s premier Beach Volleyball event at the Foro Italico on Tuesday.

“The International Volleyball Federation is very happy that the city of Rome, cradle of the world culture, can organize the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships," Dr. Graça said. "I am sure this will be a success thanks to the organisation quality of your country.”

Mr Petrucci added: “After the extraordinary success of the tennis and the Golden Gala, the Beach Volleyball World Championships are going to be the third of these meetings with a great promotional value and efficiently organised for Italian sport. For this purpose I thank Mr Magri for having allowed such an important event and to give Italy a further showcase of seeing an Olympic-quality event."

“Beach volleyball is a sport with huge opportunities and a bright future," Mr Magri added. "The Beach Volleyball World Championships in the Foro Italico is an unique occasion for our country. I have no doubt about the organisation efficiency, but I am also sure that our athletes will excel thanks to the great work carried out together with our coaches.”

Women’s world number one Juliana and Larissa from Brazil are in Pool A with Germany’s Jana Kohler and Julia Sude (24th seeds), Rebekka Kadijk and Merel Morren of the Netherlands (25) and Italy’s Voktoria Orsi Toth and Giada Benazzi (48).

Meanwhile, defending champions and No. 3 seeds Jen Kessy and April Ross of the US top Pool C which also includes the Czech Republic’s Hana Klapalova and Lenka Hajeckova (22), Barbera Hansel and Sara Montagnolli of Austria (27) and Switzerland’s Muriel Graessli and Tanja Goricanec (46).

Two time Olympic champions and three-time world champions Misty May and Kerri Walsh of the US are seed fifth and are joined in Pool E by two teams from the Czech Republic - Kristyna Kolocova and Slukova Marketa (20), and Sona Novakova Dosoudilova and Tereza Tobiasova – as well as Italy’s Laura Giombini and Valeria Rosso (29).

In the men’s draw, world number one, Olympic champions and 2007 world champions Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser of USA are joined in Pool A by compatriots Casey Jennings and Kevin Wong (24), the Ces brothers – Andy and Kevin of France (25) and Angola’s Morais Abreu and Mario Silva (48).

The top two teams from each pool plus the eight best third-place finishers will move onto the knockout phase. Pool play matches for each gender will be held on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday (June 13 to 15) followed by the 32-team elimination rounds on Thursday and Friday (June 16 to 17). The semifinals will be held on Saturday evening, June 18 with the medal matches set for Sunday evening, June 19.

• Key Television facts146 territories covered by first footage (live or delayed).• 842m potential households across five continents reach of first footage• Over 1.4 billion of potential households for first and second footage (news)• 44 broadcasters confirmed• La7 will be the Host Broadcaster of the event

The World Championships are a key Olympic qualification event and is the seventh leg of the FIVB Swatch World Tour, a circuit that lasts eight months that will make a stop in 16 different countries on four continents.

Each edition of the tournament includes a total of 45 teams as well as three wildcards – for men: Cunha and Pedro (BRA), Christian Redmann and Ben Saxton (CAN) and Alex Ranghieri and Daniele Lupo (ITA). For women: Geeske Banck and Anja Günther (GER), Natalie Cook and Tara West (AUS) and Viktoria Orsi Toth and Giada Benazzi (ITA).

The competition schedule of the Pools phase will be disclosed by the FIVB and FIPAV on the 10th of June when the semifinalists of the preceding Grand Slam in Beijing will be announced.

The global event’s program will be also featuring a large entertainment program and side events.

Spectators can attend the 2011 FIVB Beach Volleyball Swatch World Championships free of charge from Monday to Sunday with a €5 fee charged on Saturday and Sunday for special seats placed on the first ring of the stadium.

Celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2011 presenting international Beach Volleyball events, the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball, based in Lausanne, Switzerland returns for the third consecutive season to Rome and the FIVB Swatch World Tour has had at least one event in Italy since 1989 except for 1993, 1994 and 2002. The FIVB Swatch World Championships at the Parco del Foro Italico will mark the 17th time a men’s event has been held in Italy and the 10th time for the women. Built on the grounds of the Stadio Olympico from the 1960 Rome Olympics, the magnificent Parco del Foro Italico is a major international tennis and sports complex being converted for use as a beach volleyball complex for the FIVB Swatch World Championships. The venue, artistically designed and completed in stages between 1928 and 1938, will have five competition courts and two warm-up courts with the featured centre court being in the 10,000-seat main tennis stadium at the Foro Italico.

The previous FIVB Swatch World Championships in its current format were held in Los Angeles (1997), Marseille, France (1999), Klagenfurt, Austria (2001), Rio de Janeiro (2003), Berlin (2005), Gstaad, Switzerland (2007) and Stavanger, Norway (2009). The first FIVB World Championships were held in Brazil in 1987, prior to the start of the current format that began in 1997. The next edition will be held in Poland in 2013.